Can Crime Victims Access a Convict’s Workers’ Compensation Settlement Under the Son of Sam Law?

In a pivotal case involving New York’s Son of Sam Law, a court determined that workers’ compensation settlement funds are not shielded from recovery by crime victims. The case centered on a convict who received a $41,000 workers’ compensation settlement before his murder conviction in 2022. By the time he was resentenced and transferred, $28,000 of the settlement remained.

The New York State Office of Victim Services filed an injunction seeking to restrain the convict from using the funds, citing the Son of Sam Law. This law, amended in 2001, allows crime victims to recover substantial funds obtained by convicts from almost any source. Though workers’ compensation benefits are generally protected from creditors under Workers’ Compensation Law § 33, the court ruled that the Son of Sam Law supersedes this protection.

The court clarified that the Son of Sam Law’s 2001 amendment broadened its scope to include ‘all funds and property received from any source’ by a convicted person, regardless of whether those funds were acquired before the crime. As a result, the convict was limited to retaining only $1,000 of the remaining settlement.

This case highlights the broad reach of the Son of Sam Law, ensuring that crime victims have avenues to seek financial recovery, even from funds not traditionally considered accessible.